1 Rafa deserves respect

Chelsea supporters may never like Rafael Benítez but after this triumph they should at least respect him. As should fans from across England, many of whom formed a negative opinion of the Spaniard based on his time at Liverpool. He was deemed to be a money-wasting, self-obsessed failure. Yet on his return to the Premier League frontline Benítez has demonstrated admirable restraint in the face of hostility from the Stamford Bridge stands and, as well as all but securing Champions League football for Chelsea, has delivered the club the fifth European title in its history. Benítez's tenure has not been perfect – as Chelsea's failures in the Capital One Cup and World Club Championship demonstrate – but he will walk away on Sunday with his reputation enhanced.

2 Matic made for the Premier League

Much of the talk before kick-off centred on Nemanja Matic, the 24‑year‑old Benfica midfielder who has been strongly linked with a transfer to Manchester United. Matic played a total of 65 minutes of first-team football during a brief spell at Chelsea, but having moved to Lisbon as part of the deal that saw David Luiz go the other way in January 2011, he has developed into one of Europe's most talked about young players. This, then, was something of an audition for "The Spider" and, to some extent, he showed what all the fuss about. There was a reckless tackle on Ramires early on but after that Matic became a positive figure for Benfica, with his delicious through pass to Lorenzo Melgarejo on 10 minutes particularly catching the eye. A return to the Premier League could well be on the cards.

3 Chelsea's other English centre-back is rather good

A sprained ankle ruled John Terry out of this match, but it was generally accepted that the Chelsea captain would not have started anyway. A man who once felt utterly pivotal has become more peripheral this season, partly due to suspension and injury, and partly due to the form of those competing for his place, in particular Gary Cahill. This was the defender's 45th appearance of the season and once again he showed a level of commitment and technique that marks him out as an increasingly influential member of Chelsea's backline, with a superb interception as Oscar Cardozo tried to equalise for a second time late on the highlight of his display. Come next season Terry may find it hard to regain his place, with Branislav Ivanovic as well as Cahill making the centre-back berths their own.

4 Dropouts at least lift quality levels

The identity of the two teams involved in this Europa League final provided it with a rather unsatisfying flavour given they were both Champions League drop-outs; Benfica and Chelsea offered a second chance at European glory having not been good enough to carry on competing in Uefa's elite tournament. Few people like the idea of teams being able to enter the Europa League when they have failed in the Champions League group stages but here was a reason why sticking with the policy may not necessarily be a bad thing: it gives high-quality sides like Benfica a better chance of competing in major finals and, in turn, viewers the chance to see high-quality talents such as Ezequiel Garay, Nicolás Gaitán and Eduardo Salvio perform in the most important of occasions.

5 Fernando Torres can leave on a high

In what was a generally tired Chelsea display, which was understandable given this was the 68th game of a gruelling campaign, Fernando Torres put in a performance full of hard running and endeavour, two traits that allowed the Spaniard to score this game's opening goal on 59 minutes. The goal was Torres's 22nd of the season in all competitions and, arguably, one of the best he has scored for the London club. His time at Stamford Bridge has been difficult and there exists the strong possibility that whoever Chelsea's manager is next season he will want to off-load the 29-year-old, even if that means the club making a loss on the player they spent £50m for a little over two years ago. After this game, however, Torres's options in regards to fresh employers may just have increased.